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The first Lofty Quill Newsletter! Nuggets to give you three different avenues for thinking!

A growth mindset is great, and important, but not always easy...

Growth can happen when we put ourself out there.

An idea that might help you experience right now more intensely

As I was prepping to lead a “Family Holiday Tradition Storytelling” session, I naturally reflected a lot of on my own past holidays. We start these sessions by closing our eyes and going back in time to a past favorite holiday. I make purposefully vague suggestions to prompt participants to recall the holidays using all five of their senses. Everyone is always amazed at their level of recall detail!   Adults often over-rely on sight as we take in the world around us. For chil

Perhaps nothing makes a parent reflect more than witnessing markers of adulthood.

Reflection, writing your story, is a crucial part of making productive resolutions.

What makes a great memory and how can we effectively convey it to others?

What could have been a challenging holiday season magically unfolded, and somehow I was able to present to the now instead of worrying about the future.

We each pay attention to different aspects of a situation. I may notice colors; you may be struck by odors. We're also primed to pick up different nuances for personal reasons.

December 7, 2025   Recently, I’ve been doing some reading on the field of narrative gerontology. Yes, telling the stories of our lives as we age is a whole field! And, it’s a fascinating one.   At our core, humans are storytellers. We tell stories to make sense of our lives—even if we don’t realize that’s what we’re doing. As we get older, our stories  connect us to both our past and our future, and that connection is the “magic” ingredient that gives meaning to our lives. Re

Fully appreciating the moment can become our shared history, the stories we share for years.

November 24, 2025   “Without a story to give a framework to our lives, they become fragmented and scattered…[our] narratives give us goals, projects, and purposes worthy of ourselves.” Paul J. Waddell   I see the concept of story  wherever I look. Story  is such a universal—through cultures, through the decades, eons even, story  has always been the way we make sense of our lives. The many benefits of Birren’s “Life Review” are revealed in numerous research studies, but one t

What does yoga have to do with writing? It's all about the process...

What do raking and editing have in common? You might be surprised!

November 4, 2025   Yeah! It’s November! I absolutely love every last bit of November—the leaves, the colors, the crisp air, the pumpkins, apples, and pecans, the smell of burning leaves, of holiday spices, and Thanksgiving. I absolutely adore Thanksgiving. And this year, it’s even better because the last Thursday of November falls late in the month.   When Thanksgiving is early, the month feels truncated. After the holiday weekend, the world automatically turns to Christmas,

How can paying more attention to the details in your day add more to your writing?

Our lives aren't lived in the broad strokes of dates and big accomplishments but in the small details-- the people we touch, the things we enjoy-- that make us who we really are.